Tourism & Vacation Guide for Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Local Food and Drinks

The life of the people in Saudi Arabia
revolves around the religion of Islam. It is the reason why
they have two holiest sites in the country, the Mecca and
Medina, as they have a public practice of praying five times
a day, daily. The law and culture of Saudi Arabia are
founded under Islamic principles and even their dietary
issues should be followed to avoid punishments. Though there
are already fast food chains available in Saudi Arabia,
Saudis still prefer to eat local food thus leaving fast food
chains to foreigners.

Saudis strictly follow the Islamic
dietary laws that provide sets of rules of what a Muslim
should eat in his or her everyday life. Unlawful foods not
to be eaten are stated in the holy book of Muslims called
Qur’an. The law prohibits a Muslim from taking alcoholic
drinks, eating or drinking blood, especially eating unclean
animals for meat such as swine, mice, bats, monkeys,
canines, and felines. Saudis value their healthy diet
because like what was stated in the holy book, overeating is
a sin. Food and cooking hygiene is definitely an important
part of the Islamic law, as it is needed for a land animal
to be properly slaughtered by a Muslim, Christian or Jew.

One of the traditional and local foods
most Saudis eat is their flat bread called fatir and
kimaje, which are used at every meal in. An authentic
fatir is made with toasted barley flour, baked in a
warm oven over a metal mixing bowl for 3 to 4 minutes while
kimaje is bread served warm from the oven used to
scoop up other foods. Saudis also eat hawayij, which
is a spice blend that can be kept for a long time in a
well-sealed container. The kingdom can now support most of
its needs especially in agriculture where they can cultivate
most local foods like rice, wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons
and dates for the country’s supply. Most common meats eaten
by Saudis are chicken and lamb. The local but popular recipe
made of chicken or lamb is called Kultra. Saudis
prefer to use chicken for their main meat meal of the day
which is lunch, making them rank as the highest consumer of
broiler chickens in the world. They usually serve lamb to
honor guests and holiday feasts that makes them the world’s
largest importer of live sheep.

Since alcoholic drinks are prohibited in Saudi, Arabic
coffee and fruit drinks are popular alternatives to alcohol.
There are also available alcohol-free beers and cocktails
but only served in hotel bars. Because of Islamic dietary
law prohibiting alcoholic drinks, there are no bars in Saudi
Arabia but people can still enjoy the nightlife with
restaurants and hotels in the country. Saudis loved eating
or drinking dairy products such as camel's, sheep's or goat
milk, which has been the principal food of Bedouin diet
since in the early years of Saudi Arabia. Saudis can eat
Yogurt alone but it can also be used in sauces or made into
a drink popularly called as lassi.